Category Archives: Recipes of the Week

Post navigation

My cousin Esther sent me this recipe at least 5 years ago, maybe more. I am not sure what took me so long to try it (maybe finding the apple jelly but I am not sure I ever really looked). I found the recipe upon looking through all my old recipes in order to select the most special recipes to include in our upcoming cookbook. Finally I set it aside and decided to try it. It’s great, savory and sweet and so perfect for the summer. I served it with regular grilled chicken, roasted salmon and even as a dip drizzled on cream cheese. I found the apple jelly at Fairway market but the Hero brand carries it and that is available in most kosher markets. Thank you cousin Esther and keep those delicious recipes coming!

This has all of summer’s best produce in every bite. It’s great for lunch or for Shalosh Seudas. Fresh summer corn, fresh basil, and fresh tomatoes, come together in this bright and beautiful side dish.

Incredibly good side dishes are hard to find but, according to my family, no green bean dish could ever be bad. Really; roasted, steamed, or with this vinaigrette, they always appeal to the whole crowd.

Fill large bowl with water and ice and set aside. Cook green beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain. Transfer to bowl with ice water to cool them and stop them from cooking further. Drain.

Toss green beans, walnuts, and vinaigrette in large bowl. Serve at room temperature or slightly warmed.

Place quinoa in large saucepan; add enough salted water to cover quinoa by 1 inch. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until quinoa is tender, 15 to 16 minutes. Drain. Chill until cool.

Ganache:
Place chocolate and pareve cream in microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Stir in margarine. Let stand until spreadable, about 30 minutes. Spread over top and sides of cake. Transfer cake to plate. Chill 2 hours and up to 1 day.

Praline Topping:
Stir brown sugar, pareve whipping cream, and margarine in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat until margarine melts. Boil 1 minute without stirring. Remove from heat; whisk in sugar and vanilla. Add pecans; stir just to incorporate. Quickly pour praline over cake. Spread just to edges (topping sets quickly). DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome. Store at room temperature.

Preheat broiler. Remove kernels from ears of corn and place in roasting pan. Broil for 5 to 10 minutes, watching carefully to prevent burning. Remove from oven and cool completely. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat – start with 2 tablespoons and add more if necessary. Add tuna and sear – about 2 minutes per side. (if you like it really raw, do 1 minute per side; if you like it cooked through, do 4 to 5 minutes per side). Remove from heat and cool. Slice or chop tuna into smaller pieces and toss with corn, cilantro, jalapeno and lime juice. If not serving immediately, refrigerate until ready to serve. Stir in avocado just before serving.

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of flour and yeast; set aside. In a microwave or saucepan, heat soy milk (or creamer), water, margarine, sugar and salt until lukewarm and margarine begins to melt. Add to flour mixture and stir. Add egg and whisk together. Stir in pesto. Add remaining flour, one cup at a time, stirring constantly. Knead until dough becomes smooth and elastic. Shape dough into ball and roll in an oiled bowl. Cover and let rise for 2 hours. Punch dough down and divide in half. Let it rest for 10 minutes. Divide each piece of dough into nine pieces shape into balls. Place in greased muffin tins. Cover again and let rise an additional ½ hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes – until golden. Remove from pans to cool on racks.

If you’re still craving homemade bread, I highly recommend this semolina one.

In a large skillet, heat ¼ cup oil over low heat. Add onions and cook until soft and lightly golden – do not brown. Remove from pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and sauté the mushrooms until browned. Remove and toss with onions. Heat remaining oil in pan and add brisket. Sear on both sides – about 5 minutes each. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place ½ of the mushroom-onion mixture along the bottom of a large roasting pan. Top with brisket and rest of mushroom-onion mixture. Whisk together beef broth, ketchup, brown sugar, flour, coffee and pepper. Pour over brisket. Cover tightly and cook for about 4 hours, basting halfway. Let stand and rest before slicing. Keep in gravy for reheating.

Everyone loves brisket and everyone has their favorites. If this one doesn’t do it for you (although I can’t imagine why!), try one of our popular hits.

Whisk together chicken broth, cornstarch, rice vinegar and soy sauce and set aside. Heat peanut oil over medium-high heat in wok. Add garlic and ginger and sauté briefly Add chicken and stir fry until no longer pink. Add zucchini and scallions and continue sautéing until browned. Add sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 to 5 minutes. Serve over rice. Top with peanuts or cashews if desired.

We like stir-fry in almost all its permutations. This recipe is another one of our favorites.

Cream together tofutti cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla. Gently fold into whip. Line a trifle bowl with lady fingers. Spread with ¼ of whip mixture. Add another layer of lady fingers and another layer of whip. Spread half of pie filling over this. Repeat. Chill completely before serving and keep stored in the refrigerator.

I love making halibut because it’s a hearty alternative to other white fish and different flavor to traditional salmon. This one is easy and creamy and very filling. I love the combination of Dijon mustard and butter. Sometime I add fresh tarragon to finish it with a little more spice.

For the fish:
Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Whisk mustard and eggs in another shallow bowl. Combine pecans and breadcrumbs in a third shallow bowl.

Dredge each halibut fillet in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Dip halibut in egg mixture to coat; drain excess. Place halibut in pecan mixture, pressing slightly to coat both sides of the fillet.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add fillets, in batches, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned, adding additional butter as needed. Arrange fillets on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until done. Serve with Dijon Cream Sauce.

The kosher version of this popular pizza is amazing and surprisingly close to the treif version (just with imitation chicken). Barbeque chicken pizza became all the rage when the California Pizza Kitchen craze made it popular way back. I still remember my non-Jewish friends talking about how good it was. GKC loves this one and my kids request it often.

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Cook the onions and the peppers until soft, about 6-7 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the imitation chicken strips and the barbeque sauce and mix well.

Roll out the pizza dough and place onto a baking sheet or a pizza stone. Spread the onion, pepper, chicken mixture over the pizza dough. Sprinkle the cilantro and the cheese on top. Then add some kosher salt and pepper to taste.

In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the shallot and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the thyme sprig, black pepper, and balsamic vinegar and boil over high heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 12 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cream, then whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil until shimmering. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper and add them to the skillet, skinned side up. Cook over moderately high heat until the fillets are browned, about 4 minutes. Turn the salmon and cook over moderate heat until the fish is just opaque throughout, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer the salmon to plates, spoon the sauce over the fish and garnish with ground black pepper. Serve immediately.

At GKC we really like salmon and have many recipes posted. This is one of our oldies but goldies. My son even made it for a dinner party recently!

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Season the tuna with salt and pepper. Cook over high heat for 1 minute per side. Transfer the tuna to a platter and let rest for 1 minute; thickly slice and serve with the sauce.

If you are a fan of seared tuna (and we are!), you can try this recipe as well.

Heat grill to medium - about 375 degrees. Cook lettuce leaves 2 or 3 at a time in a pot of boiling water until ribs are flexible, 1-1/2 to 3 minutes and then transfer to a bowl of ice water. Lay leaves flat with smooth sides up on kitchen towels and pat dry.

Spread the 8 largest leaves with olive tapenade. Cut fish into 8 pieces, each about 2-1/2 inches wide. Place 1 piece at base of each leaf. Top each piece of fish with 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard. If leaf isn't big enough to enclose fish, overlap leaf with another. Roll up each bundle from base, folding in sides (gently crack lettuce ribs if needed). Brush bundles with oil. Discard any extra leaves.

Heat oven to 500 degrees. Put eggplant into a bowl and drizzle with 4 tablespoons oil. Toss to combine and season with salt and pepper. Transfer eggplant to 2 baking sheets and bake, turning occasionally, until soft and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and set aside.

Heat remaining oil in a 5-quart pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add chile flakes and garlic and cook, stirring, until garlic softens, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and half the basil, season with salt, and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until just al dente - about 9 minutes. Drain pasta and transfer to tomato sauce. Stir in reserved eggplant and toss to combine. Stir in remaining basil and season with salt. To serve, transfer pasta to a platter and garnish with mozzarella cheese and a little drizzle of olive oil.

Lobster rolls are a fun food item available at many beach food stands and restaurants. I have always been intrigued by their popularity and when the imitation lobster came out in kosher markets, I had to try out a version. I think the results are both fun and delicious.

In a bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, celery, garlic, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, Tabasco and the 2 tablespoons of chives; season with salt. Refrigerate until chilled.
Cut the imitation lobster into chunks. Mix into dressing and chill for one hour.

Melt the butter on a large griddle or in a large skillet. Add the closed buns and toast the outsides over high heat, turning frequently, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer the buns to a platter, split the tops and fill with the lobster salad. Tuck the potato chips into the rolls, garnish with chives and serve.

In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the pickle remoulade. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
In a pie plate, whisk the cornmeal, panko, 1/2 cup of flour, the salt, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, sage, ginger and cumin. In another pie plate, beat the eggs. Dust the flounder with flour, then dip in the beaten egg; coat in the panko mixture, pressing the crumbs to help them adhere. Transfer the fish to a baking sheet.
In a skillet, heat 1/4 inch of vegetable oil. Fry the fish in 2 batches over moderately high heat, turning once, until the crust is golden and crisp and the fish is cooked through, 4 minutes. Drain the fish on paper towels.

Serve the fish with toasted bread and pickle remoulade.

What is fried fish without French fries? You might as well go all out!

Make sure you use firm fruit for this recipe. You want the fruits to hold a good julienne slice to give the appearance of a slaw and not a salsa. It is very flavorful and works well with grilled chicken too.

For the slaw:
Whisk the first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add fruit and scallions, toss gently to coast. Season to taste with salt.

For the salmon:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle the fish with olive oil and kosher salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 15 – 18 minutes or until fish is opaque but cooked through. Serve warm or room temperature with stone fruit slaw.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Slowly pour in pareve chicken stock, whisking constantly so that mixture thickens. Next slowly add in the half-and-half, whisking constantly so that the mixtures thickens. Stir in the cheese, nutmeg and pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes until cheese is thoroughly incorporated. In a 9 x 13-inch pan place small layer of sauce. Next add a layer of ravioli. Sprinkle cheese over ravioli and cover with sauce. If your family likes spinach, add a layer here. Add another layer of ravioli, more sauce and cover the whole top with cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour.